Sensing mechanism



SENSING MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed May 1, 1952 @NM mwmmvHrmP INVENTOR JAMES M. CUNNINGHAM AGENT Dec. 20, 1955 J. M. CUNNINGHAM2,727,952

SENSING MECHANISM Original Filed May 1, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG- 2@GACJSCJG *GGGSG a 302 caacaa acaacac: C CJ 3GG 304 @czaccaa mmmac:iaa-cxz cmcx:

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INVENTOR. JAMES M. CUNNINGHAM AGENT United States Patent Ofiice2,727,952 Patented Dec. 20, 1955 SENSING NIECHANHSP/l James M.Cunningham, Endicott, N. 1., assignor to International Business MachinesCorporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Originalapplication M'ay 1, 1952, Serial No. 285,566. and this application May28, 1953, Serial No. 3

9 Claims. (Cl. 20046) name of I. M. Cunningham, Serial No. 285,566,filed May 1, 1952. In the present application, the disclosure and claimsare restricted solely to improvements in the sensing mechanism.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a novel wire sensingunit adapted for sensing small pierced holes in record cards. in theillustrative embodiment, the invention is shown applied to a machinewherein record cards containing data in the form of small pierced holesare run through the punch unit of the machine and the data is convertedinto larger holes on these same record cards. For this reason it isdesirable to provide the punching machine with a sensing mechanism whichwill rapidly and accurately sense the small pierced holes in the recordcards.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wire sensing unitadapted for sensing small pierced holes in record cards wherein suitablecontact means are closed when a sensing wire encounters a perforation,the duration of closure of said contact means being dependent upon themovement being imparted to the sensing wire by a perforation in the cardbeing sensed and the time of operation of a sensing wire restoring bail.It is desirable when sensing small pierced perforations to provide meansfor controlling the duration of closure of the sensing contacts so thatsaid duration of closure is not dependent upon the physical dimensionsof the perforations themselves.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out the followingdescription and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,which disclose, by way of example, the principle of the invention andthe best mode, which has been contemplated, of applying that principle.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation view of the machine showing the feeding,sensing and perforating devices.

Fig. 2 is a view showing the arrangement of the restoring bailmechanism.

Fig. 3 is a view of a typical record card.

Fig. 4a is a sectional view showing the position of the components ofthe wire sensing unit when no perforations are being sensed.

Fig. 4b is a sectional view showing the position of the components ofthe wire sensing unit when sensing a perforation.

Fig. 4c is a sectional view showing the position of the components ofthe wire sensing unit after operation of the restoring bail.

The operation of one type of machine to which the invention may beapplied will first be briefly explained with reference to Fig. l andthereafter the manner in which the invention is applied thereto will beset forth,

it being understood that the present invention may be used to senseholes in records generally. Reference may be had to Reissue Patent21,133 for a more detailed explanation of the illustrative machine,which is commercially known as the IBM reproducing punch. The presentinvention is concerned with only the punching section of said machineand therefore, it is deemed unnecessary to show or describe the readsection of the reproducing machine. To facilitate cross reference thesame reference characters will be employed as in the patent to likeelements and the elements of the invention will begin with the number302.

The record cards 11 are fed from the hopper P by the oscillating arm 83,reciprocating slide 84, and picker 85 to the feed rollers 103, 104,which rollers convey the said card past the new pierced hole sensingunit, indicated generally as PHS on Fig. 1. It will be noted thatsensing unit PHS replaces the usual punch master card brushes 17 shownin the said reissue patent. The card is then moved past a mark sensingstation, which is disposed ahead of the punching station and comprisesthe sensing brush assembly 691 and insulating bar 602 (shown similarlyin Patent 2,275,396). From the mark sensing station, the card isconveyed to and past the punching station, comprising a row of punches18 and die 167. Rollers 105, 166 then convey the punched card past thesensing station, comprising brushes 19 and contact roller 227, and bymeans of rollers 131, 132 and deflecting roller 145, the said punchedcard is conveyed to discharge hopper 13. The sets of rollers whichconvey the record card through the punching section of the machine areintermittently driven, so that the card is advanced in steps, with eachrow of index point positions pausing momentarily in the punchingposition to receive a perforation, if, at such time the magnet PM isener gized.

Energization of the said magnet PM will rock its armature structure 1%),drawing a link 192 toward the left to effect coupling between aninterposer 186 and a plate 184. The plate 184 is carried by member 177pivoted at 183 and oscillated, by means of a link 178 connected to anarm 176 on shaft 175.

The description, up to this point, relates briefly to the prior artmachine described in greater detail in the aforementioned reissue patentwhich can be referred to for the description of the starting andoperating control elements, and circuits for rendering the mechanism,which will be referred to hereinbelow, continuously operated.

in the description to follow, the record cards containing the piercedholes are placed in the hopper P, and are fed face down, twelve edgefirst, individually and successively therefrom by the card picker 34 tothe feed rollers 193, 104-.

A typicfl record card is shown in Fig. 3 having pierced holes 352 at the"8, 4, and 0 index point positions. This data is also shown transposedinto standard size perforations 3%34, the perforations corresponding tothe data represented by the pierced holes being disposed in columns 46through 52.

These cards are then fed by the said feed rollers post the pierced holesensing station EHS. The pierced hole sensing unit, as shown in Figs. l,4a, 4b, and 40, comprises a plurality of spaced sensing wires 3135 whichare individually disposed on a plurality of spaced levers 306 pivcted ona bar 3137. There are, in fact, four hundred of these sensing wires,five for sensing each columnar position of the standard card and theyare arranged with respect to the punching station, so that the indexmark positions on the card are sensed three cycle points before thecorresponding index mark positions sensed are fed to the punchingstation.

There are eighty of the levers 306, each lever supportingfive sensingwires placed side 'by side. The lower extremity of each sensing wire isattached around a stud 398 on its associated lever and has a bentportion which 7 is retained by two ears 309, 310 of the lever in afashion so that the upper extremity of the sensing wire extends upbetween the sides of a bracket member 311 integral with each lever 306..The bracket members 311 extend into slots of a comb plate 312 whichserves as a part oi the card bed for the punch feed. A guide block 311ais provided between the sides of each bracket member 311. providing asmall rectangular hole between the block and the lever to guide the fivesensing wires.

The lever supporting bar 307 is mounted in a comb member 313 which isslotted to receive the individual levers 396. The comb member 313 is anintegral part of a block 314 which is suitably attached to the maincasting 315, of an insulating material, or" the sensing unit.

Mounted alongside the casting 315 and extending across the'width of thesensing unit is a series of one hundred and sixty contact wires 316,there being two wires for each column of the record card. These contactwires are held in position by means of an adjustable insulator bar 317and plungers 318 which serve to .force the middle of the wires againstthe inner edge of individual slots in a conducting strip 319, which isattached to the main casting 313. There are eighty of the plungers 318slidably mounted in the casting 315, and the adjustable bar 317 isslidably mounted in grooves 3170 in side plates 31711 of the casting315. Set screws 325) are provided to adjust the bar 317 into a bend inone end of each contact wire to regulate the tension on the wires.

The plungers 318 are normally retained in an extended position againstthe contact wires by means of the lower extremities of the levers 366.Each lever is normally urged in a clockwise direction about bar 3tl7 bymeans of a spring 321, extending between a projection 322v on the leverand a bar 323 positioned in a slot of a comb member 32 5. The combmember 324 is attached to the lower extremity of the block 314 andextends across the sensing unit serving as a guide for the levers 306.

As shown in Fig. 1, when there is no card at the sensing station, thesensing wires extend against one side of a notch in the underside of aplate 326 and the lower extremities of the contact wires are out ofcontact with the ends of a series of conducting inserts 327 mounted inthe casting 315, there being one insert for each two contact wires.

Turning now to Fig. 40, there is shown the position of the sensingcomponents during the sensing of a blank portion of the record card. Theposition of the components will change slightly due tothe fact that thewires will be moved downward by the thickness of the card and the loopportion is now pressing the wires against the ottom of the card.However, the contact wires and conducting inserts are still out ofcontact with each other. Fig. 4b shows a sensing wire encountering apierced hole and it will be noticed that the position of the componentshas now'changed. The sensing wire now extends into the pierced hole andas the card moves in the direction of the arrows it pulls the sensingwire along with it causing the lever 306 to pivot counterclockwise. Thelower extremity of the lever has been moved away from plunger 318allowing the contact wires to push said plunger inwardly until. thelower extremity of the contact wire contacts one end of the conductinginsert 327.

The other end of the conducting insert is in contact with a contact wire328 (Fig. l), of which there is one for each insert, attached to aninsulator block 329. The block 329 is attached to a bracket member 330mounted in the frame of the punching machine. The contact wires 323serve to complete circuits from the inserts 327 to a suitable storageunit, by way of a customary plugboard, to control the punching operationof the machine as disclosed in my aforementioned earlier filedapplication.

Turning now to Fig. 4c, the sensing components are shown restored totheir normal position after the pierced hole has moved out of sensingposition. It will be noted that contact between the insert 327 and thecontact wire is now broken. The restoring of the components isaccomplished by means of a restoring bail 331 which is cammed down onceeach cycle point against the bent portion of all the sensing wires. As aresult, the wires are pulled down out of the pierced holes and thelevers 306 are pivoted clockwise, by springs 321, until their lowerextremities strike the main casting 315 and restore the plungers 318.When the bail 331 is returned upward, the sensing wires move upwardslightly with respect to their levers, due to the tension in the bends,and are ready to sense the next perforation.

Referring to Fig. 2, the restoring bail 331 is mounted at each end in asleeve 332 integral with a rod 333 which is slidable in a supportcasting 334. At one end of the bail, a curved link 335, pivoted on anauxiliary shaft 336, is connected to the sleeve 332 by'a link 337. Acoil spring 338, extending between the sleeve and the support casting,normally urges link 335 to pivot clockwise to cause a follower 339,ivoted thereto, to ride on the periphery of a earn 340 fixed on a shaft341 journaled in the side frames of the punching machine.

The cam 34!) is continuously driven by suitable gearing on the mainmachine. The periphery of the cam has eleven short projections and onelong projection which correspond to the index point positions on thecard. The record cards are fed through the feed of the punching machine12 edge first and since the pierced hole ensing unit is disposed threecycle points ahead of the punching die, a pierced hole in the 12 indexpoint position is sensed at 9 time on the machine index. The cam istimed according to the reading of the card with the long projectioneffecting restoraton of the sensing wires between the sensing of the 9index point position on one card and the 12 index point position on thefollowing card, which is actually between 6 and 9 time on the machineindex. Movement of lever 335 by any of the projections will cause link337 and the sleeve 332 to pull the restoring bail down against thesensing wires to restore them.

it will be understood that the pierced hole sensing unit can be used,.in the same manner, .to sense standard size perforations 304, eitheralone or in combination with the pierced holes, should it be desirable,for example, to transpose the standard punchings from one field toanother field on the card.

Also, since the sensing unit is located in the position normallyoccupied bythe punch X brushes of .a standard reproducing punch, thesensing wires can be employed for sensing X punched'holes and no punch Xbrushes are required.

From the pierced hole sensing unit PHS, the cards are moved past themark sensing station comprising the conventional mark sensing brushassemb1y 601 and insulating bar 602.

From the mark sensing stati n, the cards are moved past the row ofpunches .18 and die v167 where the standard size perforations are made:in accordance with the data sensed by the pierced hole sensingmechanism and/or the mark sensing brushes. The punched cards are thenconveyed past the sensing station, comprising brushes 1? and contactroller 227, and, by means of rollers 131, 132 and deflecting roller arefinally conveyed to the discharge hopper 13.

As was previously mentioned, in the illustrative embodiment of theinvention the pierced hole sensing unit is positioned three cycle pointsahead of the punching die. As such, a suitable storage unit of the typeshown and described in my application, Serial No. 285,566, filed May 1,1952, may be provided to store the pierced hole readings until thesensed card reaches the punching die at which time said storage unitwill become effective to cause the punching mechanism to operate inaccordance with the pierced hole data sensed.

While there have been 5110. and described and pointed out thefundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a singlemodification it will be understood that various omissions andsubstitutions and changes in the form and details of the deviceillustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in theart, without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is theintention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the 3.

scope of the following clan'ns.

What is claimed is:

1. In a perforated record controlled machine, in combination, a wiresensing element having one bent extremity, a rockable member, means onsaid rockable member for holding said sensing element, said meansincluding retaining members for the bent portion thereof, and said wiresensing element being positoned relative to a record to be sensedwhereby said record will deflect said element to condition same to passthrough perforations in said record.

2. The invention set forth in claim 1 having a movable member positionedbetween the card and the bent extremity of said sensing element andcyclically operable means for moving said movable member down againstsaid bent extremity to retract said sensing element from a perforationin the record.

3. The invention set forth in claim 1 having contact means opposite oneend of said rockable member and adapted to be moved by said rockablemember into either one of two contact positions.

4. In a perforated record controlled machine, in combination, a wiresensing element having one bent extremity, a rockable member, means onsaid rockable member for holding said sensing element, said meansincluding retaining members for the bent portion thereof and a singleretaining member at one extremity of said sensing element, means formoving said rockable member toward a record being sensed, said wiresensing element being positioned relative to a record to be sensedwhereby said record will deflect said element to cause said sensingelement to pass through perforations in said record, contact meansopposite one end of said rockable member, and an operating memberbetween said contact means and the rockable member for holding saidcontact means in one position when said rockable member is moved to-Ward the record, said record being effective, when the sensing elementencounters a perforation, to cause said sensing element and rockablemember to rock in a reverse direction and thereby etfect movement ofsaid contact means to a different position.

5. In a perforated record controlled machine, in combination, a wiresensing element having one bent extremity, a rockable member, means onsaid rockable member for holding said sensing element, said meansincluding retaining members for the bent portion thereof, means forfeeding records having columnar index point positions of perforated datadesignations to be sensed, means for moving said rockable member towarda record being sensed, said wire sensing element being positionedrelative to a record to be sensed whereby said record will deflect saidelement to cause said sensing element to pass through perforations insaid record, a movable member positioned between the card and the bentextremity of said sensin element, and cam operated means, operating insynchronism with said feeding means, for moving said movable member downagainst said bent extremity, once for each index point position on therecord, to retract said sensing element from a perforation in therecord.

6. in a perforated record controlled machine having a feed bed and meansfor feeding a record to be sensed along said bed, in combination, a wiresensing element having a loop portion formed at one end and a straightportion formed at the other end, a rockable member, means on saidrockable member for supporting said sensing element, said meansincluding retaining members for the loop portion thereof, means normallyrocking said rockable member and sensing element in one direction tocause the straight end of said sensing element to extend above said feedbed, and means for limiting the movement of said sensing element in saidone direction, a record when fed being effective to cam over the sensingelement and compress the loop portion thereof to condition said sensingelement for more positive movement through perforations in the record.

7. A machine as in claim 6 having contact means opposite one end of saidrockable member, an operating member between said contact means and therockable member for holding said contact means in open position whensaid rockable member is moved in said one direction, said record beingeffective, when the sensing element encounters a perforation, to causesaid sensing element and rockable member to rock in a reverse directionand thereby efiect movement of said contact means to a closed position,and cyclically operable means for rocking said sensing element androckable member back in said first direction to retract said sensingelement and at the same time move said contact means to the openposition.

8. In a record sensing device, means to feed a record along a prescribedpath, a rockable member mounted on a pivot adjacent said path andtransverse to the direction of feed of the record, a spring sensingelement on said rockable member positioned so that its and normallyprojects into the path of a record fed by said feed means, whereby whena record is passing over said sensing element the sensing element isadapted to spring into any depression or hole in the record, thetrailing edge of the depression or hole then catching the sensingelement and rocking said rockable member.

9. A record sensing device as described in claim 8, characterized byknockoff means operated intermittently in time with the record feed andacting upon said spring sensing element to withdraw the same from therecord to allow said rocking member to return to its normal position.

Ford Feb. 4, 1941 Reiber Mar. 28, 1944

